1A faulty signal is being blamed for Britain's worst train crash in decades. At least 36 people died and more than 100 were injured in a three-train rush-hour smash near London's Clapham Junction.

2The Soviet Union has felt overwhelmed at the outpouring of love, sympathy and offers of aid from around the world for the victims of the Albanian earthquake. A second relief plane has crashed today, killing all seven people on board. Pilots flying aid into the region claim the skies over Armenia are overcrowded and air traffic control is inadequate.

3An Air New Zealand Fokker Friendship had to dive to avoid colliding with a light aircraft over Cook Strait today.

4Maverick Labour MP Jim Anderton has been demoted to the bottom of the Labour Party's pecking order because he abstained from voting on the Bank of New Zealand [BNZ] Bill.

5The Auditor General has accused the Fire Service Commission for Fire Safety of failing to provide enough funding and fire fighters to adequately fight fires.

6Fire fighters battling a blaze near Dunsandel say a restructured Forest Service has left them lacking in manpower.

7The Save The Children Fund has started a relief fund for Canterbury farming families who have been suffering from a lengthy drought.

8The Milford Road is closed after Fiordland suffered a deluge of rain.

9The Electricity Corporation (Electricorp) has lost its legal bid to stop industrial action by power workers pressing for a pay increase, and unprecedented power cuts should be expected nationwide tomorrow.

10New Zealand's first frozen embryo baby was born in the South Island last week.

11British pop star Elton John has won nearly $3 million in an out of court settlement in a defamation claim against the Sun newspaper.

12Former British Olympic silver medalist David Jenkins has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the United States for participating in an international drug ring, smuggling steroids to athletes.

13Scientists are increasingly concerned that Antarctica is under threat from possible future mining.

14Willowbank Park chimpanzees Charlie and Coco have become parents for the second time.